It's hard to believe that our Spring State Board meeting in
Grayling is
coming up in only three weeks - didn't we just leave Big
Rapids? I'm
certain that the officers and committees have been hard at work
getting
everything ready for one of the most important board meetings
Michigan has
had in recent years. Not only is this the final Spring state
meeting (next
year will be in the Fall only), but this is also the meeting
where board
members finalize the proposals to be sent to the state
conference in May
regarding our state federation's reorganization. This is not
for board
members only! Every local needs to have a voice in what our
membership
wants the future BPW/Michigan to be. Let's have at least one
person from
each local so we can hear from everyone, OK?
The most important item we will be discussing will be the
boundaries for our
four new regions. As noted in the "Michigan Business Woman",
the boundaries
will most likely NOT be the same as the meeting rotation
boundaries, but do
need to be divided equitably. Also on the agenda are the Bylaws
and Policy
& Procedure changes that will be necessary to make this
reorganization
final.
As always, the agenda allows for "fun" time. Saturday lunch we
will have a
chance to share "LO Her-stories" that each of us are to bring
about the
remarkable women we have around this state. After dinner
Saturday we will
have a special program from Sandra Hansen who will be performing
a one-woman
play, "Chewing Gum Junk Shop", in honor of Women's History
Month.
Each local is also asked to bring an Advocacy Poster Display
about what each
local organization has done within their community to meet the
mission of
advocacy, education, and/or information. Have you held a voter
registration
event or sent a letter to the editor? Do you promote some of
your programs
differently that others would be interested in also? What kinds
of programs
to you have that educate the women in your community? The
poster can be
whatever size you need to "show off" what your ladies do for
BPW.
Don't forget to keep an eye on the upcoming deadlines for event
registrations, state awards; and remember Pay Equity Day on
April 18.
See you in Grayling!
Linda Stright
Southwest District Director
